Passing on Harrison a Black Eye for CBS

CBS is understandably crowing about its big Super Bowl pregame "get," a sit-down between Bill Cowher and Plaxico Burress, his former wide receiver when the two were in Pittsburgh.

Burress, of course, is serving a jail sentence on gun possession charges, and Cowher chatted with him at the New York State prison for a story that will air Sunday.

That's all well and good, but viewers would have been far better served with a piece on the ongoing controversy surrounding former Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

Harrison is under suspicion for his possible connection to two shootings in his native Philadelphia. Dwight Dixon, one of the men who was shot in the first incident by a gun owned by Harrison in April, 2008, died in the second, just over a year later.

An extensive GQ piece strongly hints that Harrison may have been involved in both incidents, and ESPN reported last month that the Philadelphia police have asked the FBI to help investigate the death of Dixon, who was a key witness against Harrison. In addition, Seth Williams, the newly sworn-in Philadelphia district attorney, has reportedly decided to look into the matter.

Sounds like fodder for a decent piece on a Super Bowl pregame show, right? Wrong, according to CBS.

Earlier this week, Harold Bryant, vice president of production for CBS Sports, called the Harrison case "a story that's still developing. We don't know what's going on there. It's just not a piece that we were focused on."

Well, why not? Harrison's case is much more relevant to this game and to the telecast than Burress, who, at last check, never played for either the Colts or the Saints.

Sean McManus, who heads up CBS' sports and news divisions, should have dispatched a news reporter to Philadelphia to piece together something for Sunday for a far more compelling piece than anything Plaxico Burress has to say.

Playing the Big Room

The Colts and New Orleans Saints players may attempt to reduce the Super Bowl to just another game, to make it more manageable and easier to play.

Lance Barrow, CBS' lead football producer, knows better. The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched single program of the year and with the recent football ratings boom, the game could be watched by more than 100 million Americans.

"I can't wait until Sunday,' said Barrow, who also heads up CBS' golf coverage. "I'm trying to keep myself and everybody calmed down that's on our team. (Analyst) Phil (Simms) tells us all the time, it's just another game, but most games, we don't have The Who performing at halftime."

"You just look forward to it, because that's what you get in the business for. Luckily, Sean McManus has given us the opportunity over the years to let us do the big events, and we have the big events at CBS."

For Mike Arnold, who will direct the Super Bowl telecast, the game may present a specific challenge. With the no-huddle offense that both the Colts, and, to a lesser degree, the Saints employ, juggling live action and the additional replays a game like the Super Bowl demands will be an interesting task.

"There's always a lot of stress when Indy has the ball magnified now by being in the Super Bowl, where how many replays can you get in," Arnold said. "You don't want to miss the snap of the next play, so there's a lot of pressure in that respect."

My Buddy, My Colleague

Jim Nantz, who will call his second Super Bowl, says people often tell him they believe that Simms, who will work his sixth Big Game, and he have only been together for a short time, when, in fact, they are finishing up their sixth season .

Nonetheless, Nantz thinks they have achieved a solid rapport and a good relationship, in and out of the booth. Not the 'finish-each-other's-sentences' type of pairing, mind you, but a good trust.

"We've been together a while now and I really feel a huge difference every year, but especially this year," Nantz said. "I really feel we've hit our stride. I see it in the way people react to us. I think there's a mutual respect for one another. That's without question. Phil is the man and I love being his partner in the booth. I'm very proud to have the relationship I have both on and off the air with him."

Said Simms: "I think everybody that I work with, the producer, the director, Jim, we all love football, so that makes it easy. We hope that comes across. That's the main thing. I love talking about it and all the guys I work around do a good job of supporting some of the things I try to say in the telecast each week."

Just Wondering

Was there any cause or product that athletes or actors appearing on "Radio Row" in Miami didn't shill for?

Between milk, pork ribs, deodorant, movies that won't open for four months, bowling tournaments and other pet projects too numerous to name, the combination of stars with items to peddle and radio producers hungry to fill air time was impossible to ignore this week.

Timely Take

This week's cover package in Time on the increased attention on head injuries in football doesn't necessarily break any new ground, but offers some sobering and thought-provoking anecdotal insights.

The piece also makes provocative suggestions, including eliminating the three-point stance for down linemen, to reduce the potential for head trauma.

In addition, the accompanying piece, a sidebar on how the culture of Texas high school football has been largely unaffected by the national dialogue, carries bigger heft, given its writer, author Buzz Bissinger, whose "Friday Night Lights" spawned a movie and a television series.

Weekend Watch

Searching for something non-football to watch this weekend? Good luck.

FOX will have a NASCAR doubleheader Saturday, with qualifying for next weekend's Daytona 500 at 1PM ET Eastern, and the Budweiser Shootout at 8 p.m. ET.

The hoops schedule is highlighted by a CBS college basketball split regional game, with Kevin Harlan and Bill Raftery in Ann Arbor for the Wisconsin-Michigan contest, while Verne Lundquist and Clark Kellogg call the California-UCLA game at 4 p.m. ET. ABC's NBA game Sunday pits Orlando against Boston at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Finally, in what is surely a sign of the apocalypse, the venerable CBS news program, "Face the Nation," will originate from Miami Sunday, with host Bob Schieffer chatting up NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, then convening a roundtable with Nantz, Simms and Shannon Sharpe. Air times vary around the country.

Shannon Sharpe? Really?